Disorderly Conduct
by RocketScientist2
Summary: Brass takes a drunken Grissom home only to be faced with a surprise…. Oneshot. GSR Brass – Sara friendship. Please R&R. Thanks


**Disorderly conduct**

Summary: Brass takes a drunken Grissom home only to be faced with a surprise…. Oneshot. GSR + Brass – Sara friendship.

Post Burn Out before Leaving Las Vegas.

Brass struggled to keep Gil up right whilst fumbling to get the key in the lock of Grissom's town house front door.

"Easy there, pal" Brass muttered as the barely conscious Grissom slumped against the door frame.

Brass could not recall ever seeing Gil quite this drunk before. But then it had been one hell-of a week for Grissom, he mused. Ecklie had been down on Grissom about reducing costs and keeping up with his paperwork. Every end of financial year this happened, when Grissom's lay-say-fair attitude to paperwork and accounts throughout the year caught up with him and Ecklie was on his back.

Catherine's attitude to Grissom would not have helped either. Lately Catherine seemed to be on the war path about pretty well everything. It was wearing Grissom down Brass knew. Catherine was bucking for more recognition within the lab. Ever since her demotion from Swing Shift Supervisor she had not been an easy 'team' member. She often now felt the need to try and compete with Grissom, to show how she could be a better supervisor than him, pointing out his omissions, undermining his authority. It made him feel constantly under scrutiny. It was not a game Grissom played and it saddened him to have to defend himself constantly.

Even Nick was stressing Grissom out. Nick was barely speaking to him. Only two days ago Nick had lost his rag at Grissom over Grissom removing him from a case. Brass thought it was odd that Grissom seemed to just take Nick's angry outburst on the chin without even a reply. Half the lab had heard Nick's shouting. Grissom had just retreated into his office without out even trying to defend his reasons.

Even Warrick was pissed at Grissom for his failure to get the staff evaluations in on time again and the subsequent loss of cost of living adjustments. Warrick's continuing problems with Tina were made worse by her complaint that Warrick did not earn enough to compensate for all the over time he did. Tina was now earning more than Warrick and that humiliated him. And Warrick was taking some of this out on Grissom.

Brass could see how Grissom might be feeling his team, his family, was falling apart. Brass had listened to him in the bar blame himself, his failures for all their troubles. He blamed himself for not being able to help Greg. He knew Greg was hurting and his spirit was being crushed by the civil suit hanging over him of the death of the kid. Grissom blamed himself for not being a good enough friend or even supervisor to Greg. He did not know what to do and just felt pulled in every direction.

So here he was a drowning man unable to get through his own front door with out help.

Finally Brass got the key to turn and the door swung open rather violently as Brass had to rapidly turn and catch Grissom before he stumbled over his feet on the doorway.

Brass held the CSI supervisor by the shoulders and eased him inside. Kicking the door shut with his foot once they were in.

"Gil?..." came a quiet and sleepy voice from somewhere in the dark of the house. Brass nearly let go of his grip on Grissom is surprise. '_God_' thought Brass '_I am not exactly in a position to draw my gun…_' but then quickly, on the heals of that thought, was the realisation that the voice had not only been female and unthreatening in tone, but was vaguely familiar.

Brass tossed Grissom's keys on the counter near the door and called out tenetively, "Hello?".

"Jim?" came the distant reply. The voice sounded more awake now and nearer. He heard rustling of clothes and steps approaching from the bedroom.

Sara emerged switching on the light on the living room where Brass still stood supporting his nearly asleep colleague. Brass' jaw just hung open at the sight of the young CSI who was wearing nothing but a short silk robe and pushing back her ruffled, long brown hair off her face.

When she looked up she froze at the sight of Jim. For a few seconds they just stared at each other exchanging looks of astonishment. Both were trying to get their brains to compute the situation they were in. If the working of the human mind could be seen then the cogs would definitely be seen to be whirring for both of them. Brass' mind went from total shock at the figure before him, to recognition of the situation, to mild surprise, and finally to approval. He gave a controlled smile.

Sara's eyes took in he semi-comatose lover hanging off Brass like some strange mannequin from a lab experiment. She knew Brass must have had to bring Grissom home.

She went over to help gather up Grissom.

"What happened? Is he alright?" She asks, putting her hands on Grissom's shoulders and trying to assess his condition.

Brass immediately responds to her business like tone.

"Yes, he's fine. He just drunk"

"Drunk?" Sara looks up at Brass with surprised expression on her face.

"Yeah. I found him at the usual watering hole after shift. I knew this case of the missing kid was getting to him. I saw the look on his face after the mother went and attached him. As if it was his fault because of the state they found her in?" Brass paused and considered his friend. "He had spent a triple shift following the evidence to find the girl, only to be attached and verbally abused by those he was trying to help."

Sara looked at her bedraggled hero with sorrow.

"I think it was the last straw…." Brass ended.

"Lets get him to bed" Sara replied. Then the two friends, forgetting about any questions they might have about their both being in Grissom's townhouse at this time of night, set about getting him into the bedroom.

It was only after they had gotten the now unconscious Grissom into bed and closed the door on him, did Brass register that he had watched Sara quite naturally take off Grissom's shoes, pants and shirt before putting the covers over him. An hour ago he would never have thought he'd see that.

With the practicalities out of the way, they both exchanged questioning glances as they stood outside the bedroom door.

"Do you want some coffee before you go Jim?" Sara asked.

Brass recognised that she was offering him the opportunity to ask the questions he must be wanting to ask. He also wondered if she too wanted to talk to someone about her concerns for Grissom.

"Yeah, that would be nice thanks."

Brass sat on the kitchen stool as Sara prepared the coffee. With her back to him she speaks about her concerns.

"I'm really worried about him, Jim…" She turns to look at the man who has been more of a father to her than her own father ever was. "I've not seen him like this before….". Brass could hear that tears were not far starting to flow. Sara looks intently at Brass. "I have not known who to talk to about this….."

"Because no one knows why you would have a special concern, you mean?" Brass ventures.

"Exactly. It would just add to his troubles to have our relationship made known at the moment. Ecklie would we right on him. We'd be split up from working together…..and it would just break him right now"

"I think he is reaching that point anyway, Sara" Brass softly suggests.

Sara looks directly into Brass' eyes as she tries to take the truth of what he has said on board. She cannot deny it.

"He is burning out….." she says it partly as a question, partly as a statement.

Brass does not feel he needs to hurt her more by confirming her worries out load.

"They are all _taking _ from him Jim. All of them. " She looks at him with eyes watering, but also with anger rising. "All they see is the impassive Grissom, unemotional Grissom, analytical Grissom. You can throw all _your_ emotional rubbish at him as he will take it. He will look after us all. But what about him?"

"He has you, which I might add, I am immensely please to see" Brass says with as smile.

Sara returns the smile. "Yes he does. And I know how much I mean to him, truly I do, but I now know him so well, Jim. I see how this all effects him." She pauses. "He _has to_ try to be impassive because he cares _so much_. I knew he had a big mind, but I did not realise, consciously anyway, what a big heart Gil has."

Brass looks a little quizzically at her. But he nods in agreement. "Yes, I've seen it."

She continues "It is what makes him do this job. He _really cares_, even if they are dead and have no one else to speak for them. We are all just so used to leaning on his strength. And I think he is finally tired of it Jim….. Nick's out burst hurt him so much. The Under Sheriff had insisted Grissom take Nick off the case and take over himself. Grissom could not tell Nick why because of the delicate nature of the Under Sheriff's personal involvement. And Nick did not trust him. Gil sees him like a son and that son was rejecting him. Everyone knows that Catherine is trying to bully Gil into giving her more responsibility. She is hiding from her grief over Sam I know but she is taking too much of it out on Gil. She recons he is a soft target and will not reject her because of it. He is a forgiving friend. Warrick is doing the same. Ecklie just wants to get at him the only way he can. He cannot pull Gil down on his science so he uses the paperwork. And Gil hasn't space with all this going on to take on Greg's troubles. But he wants to help. Greg's pain is hurting Gil too" The tears finally are coming down her cheeks as she rants on. Weeks of pent up concern are finally getting their release. Brass stands up and embraces her in a hug. She rests her head against his shoulder.

"You are right. I even added to it. The doctors at the hospital told me the decision he had to make. That could not have been easy. I chose him for my medical power of attorney because I knew he could look at the facts and make the best decision. But I also knew, deep down, it was because he'd care more than my daughter."

Sara looks up at Brass' face. She does not want to say it but that is when the walls started to crumble for Gil.

"What can we do?" Sara asks hoping for an answer.

After a long pause, Brass answers her "He needs to take a break from it all……."

End


End file.
